I’ve long had an idea of what kind of school I’d like my child(ren?) to attend, but I’ve had a hard time articulating it.  Fortunately, there are plenty of smart and creative bloggers and academicians out there that help me learn and think.  In fact, I still can’t articulate everything fully, so you’ll have to settle for a few links.

So, for me, the future of schooling is approximately:

THIS +THIS + THIS + THIS + THIS

Ubiquitous computing and, therefore, ubiquitous learning.  Knowledge as rhizomatic and negotiated.  IEPs for every child.

I can dream, right?

Tags: education, future, knowledge, learning, school

photo credit: Nathan Y

Recently, on Darren Draper’s blog, I commented on the sort of “invention sessions” that Malcolm Gladwell wrote about and that Darren suggested would be an interesting addition to the field of education (I agree completely, BTW).  I wrote: “I wonder if electronic communities are sufficient. Classroom 2.0 is a wonderful resource, but do ‘invention sessions’ necessarily require prolonged f-2-f interactions among a small group of smart people? I think this is an empirical question.”

In response to my comment, Darren wrote, “Strange, but you’re right about the f2f interactions. There is something about having a face to face relationship with someone - and the power that comes from bringing it to online settings. It’s as if one without the other isn’t quite as effective. I know that as I’ve met people f2f, our interactions online become more rich…That said, I think many would argue that f2f interactions aren’t required for effective ‘invention sessions’. This topic needs to be addressed further.”

I henceforth address the topic further, and I respectfully disagree (though maybe it’s just a matter of how we interpret Gladwell’s writing about invention sessions). Please don’t get me wrong…I think there are incredible opportunities and ideas to be pursued through the use of networking sites such as Ning, and the learning opportunities afforded by the combination of networking tools such as Ning, Twitter, UStream, Elluminate, etc. are endless.

However, I think what we are doing by collectively using those applications is creating individualized yet overlapping learning communities.  And, with NECC 2008 approaching, I will meet (with) many of those within my learning community and add face-to-face communication to that community.  I believe this is ideal for two reasons.  First, my own learning is aided because growing evidence suggests that e-learning is best when supplemented with f-2-f interactions (i.e. “blended” learning).  Second, as I’ve written about before, based on the work of Etzioni and Etzioni (THE experts on “community”), the ideal form of community is a hybrid one. Communities that utilize hybrid systems “would be able to bond better
and share values more effectively than communities that rely upon only one or the other mode of communication” (Etzioni & Etzioni, 1999, p. 247).  Thus, adding Web 2.0 tools to traditional learning spaces such as presentations, conferences, etc. creates perfect personal learning communities; the learning is better and the community is better.  PLN/PLE + F-2-F = PLC [NOTE: I believe the PERSONAL learning community is distinguishable from the PROFESSIONAL learning community made famous and popularized by Rick DuFour and others.  But, that's the subject of another blog post...].

However, I understood the “invention session” to be an action/change-oriented, synchronous interaction between a small group of really smart individuals with very different personal and/or professional perspectives.  I suspect that those in the sessions of which Gladwell wrote extended their discussions with computer-mediated communications (CMC), but I think the initial brainstorming needed to be done together, in the same room at the same time for an extended period of time.  I’m as much an advocate of CMC as anyone, but things happen f-2-f that cannot be replicated digitally.  I also think the action orientation of invention sessions necessitates limiting the number of participants.  If you’ve ever chaired a committee or a task force, you can probably appreciate such a limitation.

If someone can offer an example of a major “invention” or “innovation” that was developed purely through CMC among a large group of individuals, I’d be willing to reconsider my argument.  Until then, I throw out two questions:

1. What do you think?  Can an invention session be held solely online?
2. If there were to be an invention session to. let’s say, eliminate the achievement gap, which 5-7 living individuals would you want to be involved?

Tags: education, Gladwell, invention session, learning, necc2008, networks, PLC

For a few different purposes, I’m working on a “manifesto” of sorts and could use some help.  I suppose it’s not a coincidence that I’m using a blog to ask for guidance/assistance in my own learning and knowledge creation.  But, I’m looking to produce a narrative (a white paper?) that synthesizes the information that is “out there” related to my own understanding of Learning 2.0 and to advocate for a new teaching/learning paradigm for Schools of Education.  Thus, I’ll be bringing together ideas and information such as, but not limited to, connectivism, personal learning networks/environments, rhizomatic learning, etc. and then posing challenges to and recommendations for Schools of Education.  I suppose the question I’m attempting to answer is “What is the place and/or role of Schools of Education in the face of new learning paradigms?”

If you have any ideas, thoughts, comments. resources, links, etc., I’d be GREATLY appreciative.  Thanks in advance!

Tags: learning, learning 2.0, schools of education

Other than the bits and pieces I’ve read in various places, and other than what I learned from the related Wikipedia site, I don’t know a whole lot about “Attention Economics.” However, the Herbert Simon quote below that I got from the Wikipedia site resonates with my current (probably mostly personal) concern:

…in an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it (Simon 1971, p. 40-41)

You see, I’m smack in the middle of reading “Everything is Miscellaneous,” one of the many books I have on my personal and professional summer reading list. I think it’s a really important book, but I can’t shake this feeling that it could have been written in about 15 pages. I get the main ideas; I really do. But, to me, there’s a lot of filler material that may be interesting to some, but not so much to me. Yes, Universal Product Codes (UPC) were an important way of coding and categorizing products, but do I need to know the whole history of UPCs? I suppose Linnaeus was an interesting guy, but I don’t feel a need to know his whole life history. Etc.

It’s very possible that this is just me and my own personal reaction to the book, but I fear that having immersed myself in this whole Learning 2.0 paradigm, I’m cheating myself. I’ve become what Will Richardson called a “nomadic learner…I graze on knowledge. I find what I need when I need it.” That such learning is possible and that I can find what I need when I need it is awesome (and one of the main points of Everything is Miscellaneous. But, have I become so nomadic that I don’t stay and graze in any one place for long enough to really, truly learn? Am I compelled to just nibble here and there without really digesting what I’m taking in?

Perhaps this is all part of my compulsion to understand what learning really is and means. I’ve said elsewhere that in my next lifetime, I will be a learning scientist. For now, though, I believe that learning has something to do with the collection and/or accumulation of data, the processing of it into information, and, finally, the logical sequencing and application of that information to form knowledge. If that’s learning, I fear that I’ve become too concerned with data collection; that I need to spend more time data processing. In Simon’s terms, maybe I’m not allocating my attention efficiently.

Tags: attention economy, everything is miscellaneous, learning

I’ve been pondering the next few weeks and have come to realize that my computer and I will be having a lot less face time than we have over the last few months. Tomorrow afternoon, I leave for NY for various personal and professional reasons. Then, I come back to VA for Memorial Day weekend, after which I depart for West Virginia where I’ll be visiting 15 schools in 4 days (”naturalistic” data collection for statewide study). So, there will be lots of time on the road, lots of time talking f-2-f; in other words, not a lot of time in front of the computer…not a lot of time engaged with my personal/professional learning environment (PLE).

I’m certain this is a good thing as I’ve necessarily been a little withdrawn from the “non-virtual” world for a while now; the end of the semester does that to me. But, I have to admit that I have lots of anxiety. What happens when my networked learning opportunities are less frequent? How am I going to keep up with my tweets, feeds, e-mails, etc.? So, yes, I’ve grown very attached to my PLE. And that leads me to my point…

I’m a voracious learner…and I’m very proud of it. In fact, I’m so narcissistic that I’m willing to say that I think we ought to make nurturing the love of learning the centerpiece of 21st century education. In my opinion, we (the royal we?) write/speak a lot about the technological tools, and even how it’s not about the tools, it’s about the opportunities the tools give us. We write/speak about skills such as digital and information literacy as a 21st century skill.

For me, though, it starts with 21st century dispositions. As we look towards School 2.0 or Classroom 2.0, first and foremost, we need leaders, teachers, and students who are willing and eager learners…voracious learners.

Photo Credit: Aaron Schmidt

Tags: 21st century skills, learning, PLE